The present invention relates to disposable absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers.
Infants and other incontinent individuals wear absorbent articles such as diapers and incontinent briefs to receive and contain discharged urine and other body exudates. Such absorbent articles function both to contain the discharged materials and to isolate those materials from the body of the wearer and from the wearer""s garments and bed clothing. Disposable absorbent articles having many different basic designs are known in the art. For example, U.S. Reissue Pat. No. Re. 26,152, entitled xe2x80x9cDisposable Diaper,xe2x80x9d which issued on Jan. 31, 1967, to Duncan et al., describes a basic disposable diaper structure that has achieved wide acceptance and considerable commercial success.
Fit, comfort, and skin health of the wearer continue to be sought-after attributes in diaper design and manufacture. Despite recent improvements in comfort and fit due to the utilization of breathable materials, as well as, elastic materials, absorbent articles continue to be sold and marketed in many different sizes due to the varying body dimensions and anatomical characteristics of the intended wearers of such absorbent articles. Currently marketed diaper sizes are primarily distinguished by weight, such that a consumer can select a certain diaper based on the weight of the baby or child for which the article is intended. However, due to various body differences among babies, and the nature of limited choices in discrete diaper sizes, often a given diaper size does not fit as well as desired.
The variations in anatomical shape, even for babies of similar weight, can be quite extreme often leading to improper fit of the absorbent article, even when the appropriate size product, based on weight, is used. These variations in baby shape and size are especially pronounced for smaller babies, particularly premature or newborn babies weighing between 400 and 2300 grams. These newborn babies, who in many cases can literally fit in the palm of an adult hand, have special diapering needs in general. These needs include adequate urine absorption and isolation in a narrow crotch product design, heightened importance of skin health, proper, customizable, and comfortable fit, as well as ease of use to minimize handling by doctors and nurses.
Premature babies can also change in weight rather rapidly such that in a matter of days a given premature baby can outgrow a once properly fitting diaper. Current commercially available products for premature babies come in at least three sizes, none of which provide a proper comfortable fit. That is, they can be too big for babies on the smaller end of the size range, or too small for larger babies. To adequately fit the various sizes and shapes of these babies and accommodate rapid growth, multiple sizes of products would be required. This, however, would place a significant burden on manufacturers to make and distribute (and hospitals to purchase and inventory) the various discrete sizes of product.
Accordingly, there is a need for a disposable diaper that can be configured or adjusted by the user to properly fit the wearer to better accommodate rapid growth and anatomical shape variations while adequately absorbing and isolating body exudates such as urine and feces. Additionally, there is a need for a disposable diaper that can properly and comfortably fit a wide range of sizes.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an absorbent article that is worn about the waist and lower torso of the wearer. The article includes a substantially liquid impervious backsheet having an outer, garment-facing surface and an inner, body-facing surface. An absorbent core is provided adjacent the body-facing surface of the backsheet. A flexible, liquid pervious topsheet overlies the absorbent core and is joined to the backsheet. The absorbent article includes two extensible side panels, which extend laterally away from the longitudinal edges of the joined topsheet and backsheet, preferably in the rear of the product, and an extensible portion of the joined topsheet and backsheet combination that is also laterally extensible. The side panels are preferably elastically extensible while the extensible portion of the joined topsheet and backsheet is non-elastically extensible such that it is capable of being elongated to a permanent set or permanent deformation. The force required to elongate the side panels is lower than the force required to elongate the extensible portion of the topsheet and backsheet such that the side panels can undergo a substantial elastic extension before the extensible portion of the joined topsheet and backsheet undergoes permanent deformation.